


Trust is Earned, Not Given Away

by FawnoftheWoods



Series: To Build a Family [9]
Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Hyuuga Hinata, F/M, Gen, Hyuuga Hinata-centric, Journey, Smart Uzumaki Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:24:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FawnoftheWoods/pseuds/FawnoftheWoods
Summary: Ten Ten and Neji get closer. Hinata tries to incorporate Mui into her life and friends. Shikamaru and Sakura continue their research from The Last Week.





	1. Teach what thou Knowest

 

Lee groaned as he sat up.

"We can't have a mission! My youthful spirit is being sucked by this evil flu. I will not succumb!" Ten Ten and Neji rolled their eyes at Lee's antics. They were used to it by now. Their sensei did the same thing, which encouraged Lee to no end. And, although they wouldn't have it any other way, a break for the chaotic exuberance was welcome. Except that while Lee was fainting in the street, they had received a new mission together. Lee's fever was quite high and Tsunade wasn't letting him out of bed for another two days. She was especially careful with Lee due to his surgery. She knew that even years after a surgery, Lee could develop complications in his bones. Now they had to go and ask Tsunade to give it to someone else. Ten Ten caught herself before she could sigh, Lee was looking depressed enough already.

* * *

Naruto ducked as he tried to reason with the irate creature. He had tried to teach it tricks without success, other than Jiraiya's laughter. Takamaru was determined to be a forever stalker that did nothing to help in battle. Naruto sighed as he tried to ration it out. Sitting down, he tried to think of another approach. Takamaru, curious why he had stopped, landed on a branch near the blonde head and cocked his head. Naruto looked at him and chuckled.

"I couldn't train academy students, how do I think I'm going to succeed with you?" He heard Kyuubi's chuckle but ignored it. He had asked the fox for help, but the fox had only grown silent and told him that his only experience with hawks had been painfully mis-handled. He refused to elaborate. He did watch for amusement. Naruto looked at the hawk.

"What am I supposed to do with you?" Naruto sat down with a huff. He had been exercising for over three hours and was slightly tired. He turned his head when he heard a slosh and a thump. He saw his water bottle next to him. Looking up, he saw the hawk preening on a closer branch. He smiled his thanks at the hawk and took a drink. As he looked at his water bottle he thought about the hawk and himself. He stood.

"Takamaru, wanna play a game? I saw some other kids play it in the academy. You toss a kunai to each other. We should start with a stick because neither of us has ever played before. What do you say?" He looked at Takamaru, hoping he wasn't making a fool out of himself. He knew that if his teachers had treated him like he was stupid, he'd get mad. He wanted to give this a try.

Takamaru and Naruto were tossing kunai an hour later.

* * *

Neji sighed softly as Ten Ten opened the door to the Hokage's office. She had just told them to enter. Neji walked in after Ten Ten and was surprised to see his cousin in the room. Tsunade pointed for the two chunnin to take their seats.

"I am aware of Lee's illness. Thus for the purpose of this mission, Hinata will be joining you. Her teammates have been out of the missions for nearly a month now and I believe it is time she went out into the field. I daresay she's probably getting bored." Tsunade finished that with a smile. Hinata bowed her head quickly.

"N-no Godiame-sama, I've been training hard, I-" Tsunade stopped her before she could say anymore, as her excuses tended to be long and stuttered still. Neji and Ten Ten nodded to Tsunade as she continued.

"You will have today and tomorrow to prepare. Make sure you brief Hinata. Dismissed." The three chunnin filed out of her office and, after a stop at the hospital to tell Lee, they went to the training area.

* * *

Jiraiya found Naruto and Takamaru in a field panting. He walked across the field as he asked which one won. Both combatants raised their hand/wing. Jiraiya chuckled as Naruto shot at the bird screeching.

"You did not win!" Jiraiya sat back and watched them frolic.

* * *

Hinata sat on the log as Ten Ten explained the mission to her. It would take several days, which meant she had to settle the dispute in the council to her satisfaction with her father. She didn't mind. She was anxious to be in the field again. She had been training with Mui the last month and she wanted to get out of the village even if she wasn't going to test any of her new skills. She had told Kiba and Shino that she had a new skill to train so they had allowed themselves to play catch up and it turned out to be more catch up with then they thought, thus they were out of commission for two months, one left. Thus except for an emergency, her team wasn't leaving the village.

This mission was a transport mission. They had to go, get the scroll and deliver it back to Konoha. It was Class B due to the sensitive nature of the information. No problems anticipated though. They trained for most of the afternoon to make sure they were in sync. Hinata went home early to talk to Hiashi and Neji went with Ten Ten to talk with Gai.

Neji sat at dinner with Hinata. Hiashi was in a meeting tonight and Hanabi was at a friend's house, thus it was just the two of them. Neji looked at his cousin as she ate. She had been quiet all day, all month really. He realized that he hadn't been home much either.

"Hinata-sama, how has the council meetings been going?" He nearly winced. He had wanted to bridge the gap between him and his cousin but it seemed wider than ever. She looked up and smiled weakly, catching the gulf between them.

"Just fine. We're discussing elections for the next session. We must have our decision reached by next month." Neji nodded and continued to eat. Hinata tried. "How is your training going?" Neji nodded.

"Just fine. I'm looking for a new way to use chakra, but it is still in the beginning stages." Hinata smiled as she ate. This was awkward. Neji looked at her. "Do you think the mission will difficult?" Hinata nodded slightly.

"A challenge will be a welcome change from training." Neji nodded at that. Both had the same thought.

_Ouch_

* * *

Hinata did her stretches early the next morning. She had decided to see if she could do more training with Mui before they met as a team. Mui's element was water as she was teaching Hinata how to use it. Hinata had been using water as her element most of her life anyway, with her water dance. The only difference is that now she was trying to use it as opposed to it just happening when she was relaxed. Mui had given her some sort of test with paper and it said she had both water and wind elements. Mui said usually people only had one element but just shrugged and said they would have to find someone with wind to teach her later. The water usage would have demonic energy and thus Hinata would have to control it better as to not let it spin out of control. Mui was very happy with her progress. Due to her time as a child, she could naturally interweave her chakra with the water.

They headed for the river. The sunrise was just starting. As they walked Hinata continued in the task of convincing Mui to let her tell Naruto about her. This was an old argument. Eventually Hinata would win, but she had a feeling it would take a lot of cajoling first. Mui seemed upset more then genuinely afraid. She had gotten her to agree to tell Neji in a few weeks after Mui interacted with him more. The problem was they  _weren't_  interacting with him.  _How am I supposed to convince her my cousin can be trusted if I never see him?!_  She pushed the idea out of her mind as she arrived at the wide part of the river. She loved this spot. She and Naruto had spent part of a morning here and she had shown him a version of her Water Dance.

- _Flashback_ -

_Turning slightly, she saw Naruto off to one side. He was just staring at her. She blushed as she looked down and tried to get her thoughts under control. He looked so gentle. She didn't know how to describe it. He looked content, but not like he was content but like he saw content and was happy it was in front of him. Suddenly she reviewed that thought; he could have been watching her. She enjoyed her times in water. She did feel content. She looked at him and re-opened her connection with him. He felt happy, if a little confused and startled. Hinata looked at him. He was looking at her slightly confused. She realized he must also be feeling her and her sudden change in focused might have felt confusing to him. She smiled and allowed herself to feel happy at his presence. She saw him smile again. Scooting to one side, she gestured to his seat next to her. Naruto eyed her a moment as if she were crazy. Apparently he decided otherwise because soon he sat down next to her. Hinata smiled at him slightly._

_"Wh-wh-what are you doing out here, N-N-Naruto-kun." She cursed herself as her stuttering return full force. It had been wonderfully absent of late but now that they didn't have something dreadfully important to tell each other, it decided it should return. Naruto looked at her a moment. She felt some trepidation and guilt from him but he responded with his usual smile._

_"I decided to come and see what you were up to, Hinata." She blushed and looked down at her toes. Inside she jumped for joy at the idea. She felt relief coming from him. She decided Naruto was more confusing when you took his internal emotions into account. They were often quite contrary to his face. She glanced up at him and he scooted closer to her, or rather further inside the umbrella. She noticed him eyeing the drops with annoyance._

_"Ano, Naruto-kun?" He looked at her. "D-d-do you not like rain?" Naruto shook his head a little._

_"Kyuubi keeps me warm so I don't get cold, but the rain is still cold. It's kind of like sitting in the sun then getting an ice-cube dropped on your back." He shuddered. Hinata giggled slightly. Hinata handed him the umbrella and stood. He looked at her confused, but she stepped away and stood in the rain._

_"Th-th-then you should use the umbrella, Naruto-kun." He started to shake his head, but before he could form a proper protest she spoke up, "Oh n-n-no, I d-don't mind. I like the rain actually." She held out her arms and twirled to show him. She allowed herself to feel the rain against her face and on her hands. She saw him relax, probably when he felt her true enjoyment._

_"Ne, Hinata, you really like the rain?" She nodded happily. Then something occurred to her._

_"N-Naruto-kun, I have something I can do with the rain." Naruto perked up. "D-demo, I haven't done it in years. B-b-but I think I remember." He nodded. She stood in the rain and closed her eyes. She went back over her years, back to when she was a young child, just before her sister's birth. She remembered the feel, the excitement, the motion. Slowly she began to move. It was similar to the Jyuuken, but not quite. It was a mix of that and her personal style. Naruto's eyes went wide as he saw the water begin to follow her hands in their dance. It followed her movement like it was an orchestra and she the conductor. She danced around, gracefully twirling and dipping, her eyes closed. Naruto felt nothing but utter joy from her. He liked this side of her. When she finished he stood._

_"Sugoi..." He was nearly breathless._

- _End Flashback_ -

She came here to practice and for the feeling that Naruto was here. She could feel him still asleep. He had sent her images of him playing with his new "friend". The hawk had a mischievous sense of humor that she recognized from Naruto. They would be good friends and she was anxious to meet him and to introduce Naruto to Hoshi. Speaking of the fox, Hoshi was back at the compound asleep. She wasn't taking the fox this time. Hoshi had hissed and refused dinner when Hinata had explained to her that she didn't think it a good idea to add two new teammates to a squad when she was already different from Lee in what she could and couldn't do. Hoshi wasn't pleased but understood, Hinata hoped.

She began to train, stripping down to her black shorts and top. Ever since Naruto had caught her, twice, she had been a little more careful. She started her standard dance. She was barely halfway through it when Hoshi joined her. Hoshi lay on her stone on the bank of the river and curled into a ball and dosed lightly. Hinata finished her warm-up and began the form she had finished the day before. Halfway through that Hoshi got up abruptly, indicating another visitor. Hinata sighed as she switched modes to find the person nearby. Hoshi was on guard but not hissing so close but not dangerous, like Shino or Kiba.

Hinata started as she located the person a lot closer than she thought. Hinata whipped a thread of water out to wash the intruder into the river, she had done this to Kiba several times. Shino was polite enough to announce himself before he got here. She was wrong on both accounts as she changed the flow to pull her cousin off the bottom of the river. Sputtering, he knelt on the bank. Hinata knelt next to him.

"N-N-Neji-ni-kun, are you okay? I'm s-so sorry, you startled me." Neji looked at Hinata's worried eyes. She wasn't tapping her fingers together but he could guess it was close. The habit had been laying off once she started in the council, thanks to Konoha eleven, minus one, meeting nearly once a week. One of the goals of that, besides having fun as friends was to help each other with problems like Hinata's shyness.

"Hai, Hinata-sama, I'm fine, its okay." Neji was trying to stop her from worrying. He sputtered a little more before sitting up and started wringing his shirt out. "I guess we can ease up on the security around you. You obviously can take care of yourself." He was chuckling, hoping to relax Hinata. She smiled slightly, but her worried look didn't leave.

Unknown to Neji, Hinata had another conversation going on that she was worried about.

_We could tell him now!_

_**No, I still can't trust him.** _

_He's my cousin!_

**_He beat you up because of your father, who was having nothing to do with you at the time._ **

_I forgave him for that._

**_I haven't known him personally long enough._ **

_You don't know him at all until you give him a chance!_

**_He might have sensed the demonic energy, you said he was friends with Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki?_ **

_DON'T YOU DARE HOLD THAT AGAINST NARUTO!_

**_It isn't Naruto I have a problem with._ **

_Then why can't I tell him?_

That question always quieted her. Neji stood and looked at the river as Hinata forced herself out of her mind. Neji sighed and looked back at her.

"So, Hinata-sama, what were you doing out here?" Hinata looked at the river as she chose her words.

"Practicing a new form is easier near water for me. Water is relaxing." Neji nodded and looked over the river. He was quiet for several moments, during which Hinata was wondering if it was worth it to try to find another portion of the river to practice at this morning. She was petting Hoshi as she thought. Neji broke her out of her thoughts.

"Would you..would you like to...well..hearmynewideaforaform?" Hinata had never seen Neji nervous before. She just stared at him a moment before what he had actually said filtered through and she tried to process it. Finally she gave up and gave him a questioning "Ano, what?"

"Would you like to hear my new idea for a form?" Neji spaced his words out purposefully this time. Hinata nodded, smiling now. She hoped that with enough time she could convince Mui to accept Neji. She also wanted to be involved in what Neji was working on, if only to understand her cousin.

Neji swallowed as he stepped onto the river. He hadn't shown this to anyone yet, not even Ten Ten, though she knew he was working on something. He knelt on the water, using his chakra to hold him, and placed his palms to the surface of the water. Gently he pulled them, pulling a stream of water with them. When he got to a standing position, he held it for a moment before releasing it. Panting, he looked at his cousin. Hinata's eyes were frozen wide.

Hinata was thinking hard.  _He has water as an element too! **It is the natural element for anyone with my gift of the Byakugan.**_  Hinata saw his problem immediately. She closed her mouth, having realized it was left open, and stepped onto the water gently. Unlike with Neji, she made light ripples as she walked because she was mixing her chakra with the water and using the current to hold her up as opposed to her chakra on the bottom of her feet. She reached Neji as he spoke.

"So, what so you think?" Hinata smiled and placed her hand on his.

"Instead of bringing it up, try a full circle." Moving his hand, "Bring it up and then back, then down." Neji looked at her, surprised.

"Why would that help?" He didn't mean for it to sound so harsh. She did flinch slightly though.

"A-a-ano, the water flows, so it doesn't want to simply stop in midair, it wants to keep going, ne?" Neji glared down at the water and did as she suggested. The water did follow his hands better this time. Halfway through his second try, Hinata's hand joined his and he felt her chakra brush his into the water. He lost his concentration in his surprise.

"What are you doing?" Hinata jumped back.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I was trying to help your ch-chakra integrate with the water, Th-that's all." She bowed with another soft apology and stood off on the bank. Neji sighed in frustration. He didn't want to intimidate her, he was just confused. He looked at Hinata in time to see her bow slightly.

"I-I should go." He didn't have time to protest as she left in a quick walk. Hoshi seemed to glare at him as she followed her mistress.

Neji watched her go sadly. He let his chakra go and he sat on the bottom of the shallow river. It barely crested his chin. He frowned as he thought. What could he do? When he closed his eyes he felt Hinata nearby. Opening his eyes, he searched for her chakra but only found trace amounts. The confusing thing was that it was in the water. He reached his arms out to feel the water. Hinata's chakra permeated the water.

He sighed. That was what she was trying to help him do. He had helped her similarly when he was helping her with Juuken form. How was this different? He studied himself. She had touched his hands, check. Molded his form, check. Made suggestions, check. He had been snappy, check. Why? He looked over his feelings more closely, he had learned to do this when meditating. After a couple minutes of searching his feelings, he finally realized that he had never had someone try to teach him before. He had always figured it out himself. He didn't know how to handle being taught, being told how to do something before he could figure it out for himself. He sighed and resolved to handle this better. He got out of the water and followed his cousin's footsteps.

000

Hinata had walked back towards the village but decided not to go back yet. Stopping and turning towards the river, she sat on a rock on the bank. Hoshi crawled up into her lap as she stared into the water. Hinata looked at her friend.

"Hoshi, what do you think?" Hoshi looked up at her. "It would be nice to have someone else who can understand the water, to talk to. I thought we had become a family. Maybe that isn't what families do?"

_**No, you did right dear.** _

"Then why did he get mad?"

_**First, neither of you had ever had a family in this sense before, he might be as confused about what it means as you. You will have to find your own definition of family.** _

"I guess we didn't really have a family family growing up."

_**Exactly, also, he has learned his entire style on his own.** _

"So Neji-ni-kun may not have ever had a teacher besides the academy."

"That's right." Hinata whirled around to see Neji behind her. Hoshi was standing next to her, staring at Neji, but not growling. Neji sighed softly as he sat next to Hinata. "I did learn Juuken on my own. But, I should be able to learn from you as well. You learned from me." Hinata smiled

"Aa, I'm glad you helped me with my form." Neji looked into the water.

"I'm sorry I reacted the way I did." He stood and faced her, bowing. "Hinata-sama, will you please teach me?" Hinata turned bright red as she hopped up. She hated when people bowed to her. Waving her hands.

"N-n-no, th-th-that's alright, You don't have t-t-to. Pl-pl-please st-t-top." Neji looked up at her, confused. As she stepped back, she tripped and fell towards the river. Even as Neji reached out to grab her, the water rushed up and cradled her to her feet. She looked at Neji to see his eyes wide. Gently she smiled and held her hand out for him to take.

As she pulled him onto the water, he felt the river's current even out in their area. When they stopped in the middle of the river, Hinata sat down. Neji gently did so, mindful of keeping his chakra steady enough to keep him above the water. He focused his attention back to Hinata as she sat and waited.

"What do I do?" Hinata smiled at the question and walked him through melding the water and his chakra.

* * *

Naruto sat by the morning fire eating breakfast. He was enjoying the vague feeling of happiness from his bondmate. Over the last eight months or so the two had been communicating nearly every night. Sometimes it was exchanging adventures, and sometimes it was other topics like the clan or martial arts and the like. It had taken a couple times before they had gotten the hang of the communication, but now it was easy. They also discovered that if they wrote it on a piece of paper and sent the other an image of that picture it still worked. (A/N For the background on this link please see "The Last Week")

Naruto had already known that Hinata was shy, strong and smart. Over the past months he had been gone he had found her to also be inquisitive, funny, and resourceful. She had been working on her style for a few months now and she had started incorporating her element into it like he had with Kyuubi's element. He wondered out that would work between them. Fire and water were very different elements that rarely mixed well.

Oh well, he would discuss it with Hinata later tonight. For now, he wanted a session with Jiraiya. The old man promised to teach him some things about genjutsu and he couldn't wait.

* * *

It took Hinata was trying to convince Neji to release his chakra on his body and allow the water to hold him up.

"The water isn't solid, Hinata-sama." She smiled.

"It doesn't have to be solid, simply constant." Neji looked at it skeptically.

"Water is water, even at a constant flow all it can do is move me, not keep me still." Hinata sighed then, with a thought, smiled mischievously.

"Ano, Neji-ni-kun, are you sure about that?" Neji looked at her suspiciously a second before a sliver of water streamed up his leg and in a twirl he was up-side-down. He opened his eyes to see his cousins dancing eyes right in front of him. He was being held stationary by his feet so his eyes were at the same height as his cousin's eyes by a stream of water the width of his arm. She had a hand in the beginning of the stream, supposedly feeding it chakra. Neji looked at his cousin in awe, and a little bit of fear. His cousin spoke then in her slow, melodic voice.

" _This thing masters all things_

_Forest, bees, birds, trees_

_chews on iron, gnaws on steel_

_grinds hard rock into meal_

_kills kings, destroys town_

_and brings high mountain crashing down_ "

Hinata set her stunned cousin down gently on the water as she kept him up. She knelt in front of him.

" _This thing helps all things_

_field, mice, fish, rice_

_cools lava, polishes stone_

_brings things to parts unknown_

_feeds kings, saves town_

_everywhere life is found_ "

Neji knelt on the water, watching his cousin. She was smiling gently as she intoned the wisdom that felt older than either of them. His eyes were wide. Her face, the position, her kindness, it was familiar. A dream he had had nearly every month came back to him.

- _Dream_ -

_He was floating with his eyes closed. He could feel their eyes on him. Hiashi-sama, the council, fate; he could feel them damning him. He would look up and see their feet. He tried to move, to defend, but he just floated there. He felt himself falling. He landed on his hands and knees. Looking forwards, he saw the feet of his clan's main family. He tried to stand and look at them but a council member shoved his shoulders down harshly, nearly putting his face into the dirt. Everyone laughed. He looked at the ground in embarrassment. He heard someone walk up. He recognized her hesitant steps. Hinata-sama. He gritted his teeth in humiliation. She had been hurt so much because of him, now it was his turn to hurt. He waited for her harsh words, cold tone, and unforgiving strike. He saw her turn to her family. They dispersed as if by some invisible signal. She was merciful to allow him privacy for this humiliation. She turned to him. He clenched his eyes and felt her hand._

_She used her soft hand to lift his chin. He looked into her lavender eyes as she lifted him from the ground to stand before her. He saw her smile at him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw Naruto. Naruto went to Hinata and they walked away. He began to follow when something caused him to turn around. He saw Ten Ten behind him, waiting. She reached for him. He stood there frozen. She touched his face and his muscles unclenched. She cooed in his ear and he forgot his trepidation about his family. He placed his hand around her waist as her hands felt his neck. He pressed against her as she whispered in his ear._

_Then she shoved him away. He looked at her in confusion, then he saw the council member. The palm was at her chest. It would have killed him if she hadn't shoved him away. Hinata-sama came running up. She shoved him away from the member of their clan's council and got hit herself. He watched as they died, doing nothing. Darkness surrounded him._

- _End Dream_ -

Neji bowed his head, looking at the water. He started. The water! He was on top of the water, without his chakra holding him up! He looked back at his smiling cousin in shock. Hinata had been waiting for him to realize this. His surprise was so comical that she started giggling. Neji looked at his cousin as she giggled in amusement. He smiled at the sight of her being so carefree.

Finally, Hinata got herself under control and sat in front of Neji. She wanted to help him, not tease him.

"First, try to feel the flow of the water. All it's currents as it passes under us. It is similar to meditation. Water flows back and forth, push and pull." Her voice was soothing, like when he taught her meditation. Slowly he felt himself sink into the felt

Nice.

Safe.

Home.

* * *

 


	2. Nature is Often Hidden

 

Ten Ten looked up with relief as she saw the cousins come towards her. Neither were prone to tardiness yet both were slightly late. She had been worried they had had a fight. Well, not a fight really, more like a bout of awkwardness. They never really fought like cousins were supposed to.

She got up from her seat at the base of the tree. She had sat down after her warm up. They were going to train this morning and then leave after lunch. They were three days time from the meeting and two days journey from the contact. They wanted a head start.

Hinata was smiling as she chattered to Neji about the council meeting her father would have while she was gone. Ten Ten smiled at her dancing eyes. Then she noticed Neji's attire. His shirt was draped over his back, instead of being on his chest were she was sure it was supposed to be, and he was soaking wet. She went towards them.

"Morning!" After receiving a response from the pair she continued, "Neji, why are you already wet when the day has barely begun?" Neji gave his cousin a good-hearted glare before responding.

"I accidentally took a dip in the river." Ten Ten looked confused as her "why?" resounded in her eyes. He shook his head "It wasn't intentional on my part in the least." Ten Ten shifted her gaze to Hinata, who had a hand over her mouth and looked on the verge of giggling.

"Hinata?!" The heiress took a deep breath to calm herself and answered.

"It really was an accident." Ten Ten shook her head smiling in response to Hinata's smile. She decided that Hinata was just teasing Neji slightly and let it go. It was such a good thing to see Hinata feel comfortable enough around Neji to be able to tease him that she didn't want to ruin it.

"Yosh! Let's train!" The other two nodded affirmative and they started a general spar to finish warming up. Ten Ten saw Neji glance at Hinata several times before settling into that routine. Each time he smiled slightly and relaxed further.

* * *

Sakura was sitting in the cafe waiting. She had already ordered her tea and was sipping it when Shikamaru and Temari sat across from her. They exchanged pleasantries. After both had ordered their drinks, tea for Shikamaru and water for Temari, Sakura began on the reason of the meeting.

"So we have a project to continue, Shikamaru." Shikamaru nodded and explained to Temari.

"Before Naruto left, Sakura and I began researching demons in our library in an attempt to understand them, and Naruto better. At the time, we were all still new to the idea that he had a passenger. In addition we were getting ready to send him on his training journey, however, as he is gone now and our own training has settled down some, we want to pick up the project again. Since your brother carries Shukaku, I was hoping you could help." Sakura nodded. They had discussed this and had decided that the view of someone who was around a bijuu would be helpful. Temari looked at them.

"I'm not sure how helpful I'll be, Gaara has only become talkative in the last year or so." Receiving nods to continue, "He can't speak with his bijuu directly, only in dreams. He says that the seal used on him is combining parts of the demons chakra with his in dangerous amounts. The result seems to be that Shukaku has become unstable and that is why Gaara has had a hard time with controling his chakra. The same factor that allows Gaara such control over Shukaku is driving them both crazy. Gaara's treatment in our village didn't help matters either. We really know little about the bijuu himself." Shikamaru thought about this as Sakura responded.

"Any information is better than none at all. We can all go to the library after this and continue to look up the topic."

"What topic?" They looked up to see Asuma and Kurenai behind them. Shikamaru looked at his sensei a moment before answering.

"We were researching demons, specifically the tailed beasts." His tone was clipped as he tried to gauge his sensei's position on the matter. Asuma was one person Shikamaru had a hard time reading. Asuma held his gaze a moment as if the jonin was doing the same of Shikamaru. Finally he sat down next to Sakura.

"It's a risky topic to research. Most people hate demons, or distrust them at the very least. They have a more open idea at the Shunsui Temple but even there it is hard to understand such different creatures." He looked at his pupil and then rose. "Come one, Nai, I think they were just leaving. We can sit over here." Shikamaru looked after his sensei and then around. He spotted the problem immediately. A pair was sitting int he corner and staring at the chunnin. They did not look happy. With a nod he left money for the bill and rose. Sakura and Temari followed his lead, knowing that he would explain when it was safer.

* * *

Naruto rode the boat across from Jiraiya. He had said that Naruto needed to understand genjutsu. Takamaru had taken off earlier, supposedly for hunting. Naruto sat as he waited for his teacher to start.

* * *

Hinata and Ten Ten were leaning against a tree resting as Neji sat on the ground. Ten Ten hadn't thought it possible to tire him out without Lee. Apparently another Juuken user could do it. She looked at Hinata. While she was glad they were getting along so well, she was kinda jealous. Her relationship with Neji had hit a snag as they had come overworked with missions. Every time she started to bring up the mission where he had broken down, he avoided the topic. She half-thought he was scared of it. She didn't know what to do with him.

Hinata heard Ten Ten sigh as she laid back against the tree in defeat. Hinata had been watching her as she watched Neji throughout the session. She saw most of the glances and sighs. She could guess what was going on. They had started the habit of meeting every week possible and the girls had been meeting an hour earlier to talk. Ten Ten hadn't said anything specific, but Sakura and Hinata had guessed she and Neji were moving at the pace of a snail and it was Neji's decision. She really wasn't the interfering type, that was more Ino's and Sakura's department, but this was really getting ridiculous. She looked over at her cousin as he rose. He was looking at her, then Ten Ten uncertainly. She cocked her head in confusion, bringing his attention back to her. He looked at her thoughtfully. He then sighed and looked at Ten Ten, who had remained oblivious to this exchange.

"Ano, Ten Ten?" She looked up at him as he continued "I was wondering if you would like to see what I've been working on before lunch?" Ten Ten's eyes widened. She hadn't thought it was ready. Neji was a perfectionist. "Hinata-sama helped me with the idea this morning and I wanted your opinion." Ten Ten looked at Hinata quickly as the heir rose and stretched her arms up. She looked at Ten Ten.

"Ten Ten, why don't you come and see." Ten Ten stood uncertainly and followed them to the river.

* * *

Shikamaru stopped once they were at the gates to Konoha. He turned to the two girls that were following him. He had been going through the different scenarios in his head and had come to an understanding within himself.

"You both have the next several days off right?" At their nods, for this was the reason they had gotten together today. "Sensei's clue should be our focus then. The Shunsui Temple is only three hours walk from here. If you could pack and meet me here, we should go there to study. They are happy to take in scholars this time of year, their normal bustle is down. Pack for three days." After a second to consider, both girls nodded and they went to pack.

* * *

Ten Ten sat on the edge of the river as Neji stood in the middle. He was concentrating hard. Gently he placed his hands on the river's surface. In slow, long circles he drew the water out of the gentle current into a circle before allowing it to rejoin the river. The loop held for several seconds before he let it go. As he let it go, he sank into the water with a harsh sigh. Hinata immediately placed her hand in the water and his head surfaced as the water parted slightly where he sat on the bottom. Ten Ten stared for a moment before she clapped her hands excitedly and stood. She jumped over to Neji. Impulsively giving him a squeeze, she squealed.

"That was so cool! How did you do that? Are you using Juuken or somethign else? Thank you for showing me! Do you know what you are going to try to do with it yet? Is it fun? What does it look like to your Byakugan?" Neji was chuckling as she continued. He felt very light-hearted all of a sudden. He hadn't realized how much he had missed Ten Ten.

Since that mission where he had confessed some of his feelings, he had been distancing himself from her. Even if he knew what to do, which he didn't, he didn't want his family getting wind of it quite yet. He had placed a great deal of distance between them and he had missed her. He smiled slightly as he stood and felt Hinata release the water. It was time to have lunch with two of his favorite females.

Hinata and Ten Ten started walking towards town, with food on their minds as well. Neji patiently answered Ten Ten's questions.

* * *

Sakura, Shikamaru, and Temari met back at the entrance to the village, packed for a few days. They took off to the temple. Temari turned to Sakura as they were traveling.

"What kind of temple is this place?" Sakura thought back.

"It is a strange place. 20 years ago it was burned to the ground, and yet they rebuilt it in the exact same place. It has scrolls that can be found no where else. I went there is Tsunade-sensei once. She let me roam while she spoke with the head monk. There entire place is built like a fortress. I could never figure out how such a place could have gotten burned down in the first place. As I walked further into the shelves I found people there. Some were normal monks that I expected. However, some of them were very different." Shikamaru had fallen back next to them as Sakura had talked.

"Different how?" Sakura shuddered.

"Some of them were simply quiet or deformed. Some of them were muttering to themselves. It was like they were crazy or something. Every now and then a monk would approach one and they would talk. Then the person would follow the monk. They looked lost, like there was no sun anywhere on earth but they had to live anyway. Some of them looked sad, but some looked scared. It was hard." Temari frowned.

"What kind of place is this temple?" Shikamaru answered.

"Cursed. The villages around it consider it cursed. You go there for information but you shouldn't stay more than a week for fear of the curse getting you." Sakura shuddered again.

"There was one thing. I spoke to Tsunade-sensei after we left. She said that it wasn't a bad place, just misunderstood. When she said that I thought about those people. I hadn't seen any joy or jubilation in there at all, but there was another thing I didn't see that I didn't realize at the time. While I was in there I had felt confused, even a little anxious, but never afraid. I felt uneasy, but not fear or pain. There was absolutely no hatred or anger in there. They were all living at peace with each other. And while I didn't see cheer or excitement, I did repeatedly see something nearly as important."

"What was that?" Sakura looked forward determinedly. She remembered this feeling well. It had filled her with confidence even when walking to confusing shelves of people. It had kept her from running or screaming or knowing that the temple was in fact cursed. Every person she saw, no matter what other emotions were on their face, she saw it.

"Hope."

* * *

Hinata waved to her sister as she and Neji left to meet Ten Ten at the village gate. They had a long mission ahead of them and they wanted a headstart.

Ten Ten was waiting for them. They all took off in the direction of their first stop. The mission was actually pretty simple. Meet the person, get the scroll, get it back to Konoha. They could do it. They had a two day journey to there meeting location, and three day to get there. They had already chosen their spot for the night. The sooner they could get there, the sooner they could stop and talk and relax. Soon, Neji, ans mission leader, took point and Hinata and Ten Ten paced several feet behind him. Both Hyuuga were scanning with their Byakugan, but they weren't really expecting any trouble.

Hinata checked their distance from Neji and gauged the boy's hearing range before turning to Ten Ten beside her.

"Ano, Ten Ten?" When the weapon's mistress looked at her, "could you tell me happened between you and Neji-ni-kun?"

Ten Ten looked down as she thought back to the tough mission. Neji had been caught in a genjutsu where he had seen something very disturbing. Ten Ten blushed when she thought about what happened later after they had calmed him down and settled for the night.

- _Flashback_ -

_She reached forward and placed a hand on his shoulder._

_When he felt her hand he leaned into it slightly. He looked up at her eyes._

_Ten Ten nearly gasped at the emotion in his eyes. He looked at her with such intensity that is was scary. Scary and enticing. She waited. It wasn't in vain. His lips grazed her's. She felt his breath on her cheek as his arm slithered around her waist. He pulled her toward him as he got down on his knees from the log he had been sitting on. Her body fell flush against his as she felt his lips on her jawbone. Tilting her head to give him more access, she gasped at the sensations. One of her hands rested on his neck and the other intertwined with his free hand. He held her close as he came back to her lips for another kiss._

_When this one broke they rested their foreheads against each other. Neji looked at Ten Ten. She could see worry in his eyes. "Neji-kun, what is it? What did you see?" He winced as his arms tightened._

_"You were done waiting for me. Everyone was done. I was alone and I was the enemy." Ten Ten watched as he averted his eyes and tried to pull away. She wasn't allowing that._

_"I'll always wait, Neji-kun. We all will. Because we care about you." He didn't say it, but she knew. It wasn't just her and Lee, it was also Hinata. She loved him. She would wait an eternity. She pulled him with her arm around his neck. "You aren't running away this time." Neji looked at her as they met in another kiss. Her free arm wrapped around his shoulders in passion as his free hand traveled to her side, feeling her stomach and back. It maneuvered upward until it felt her soft breast. She gasped in the kiss as she felt his hand. Her head tilted back in pleasure as his hand massaged her hand in blind desire to please his woman. Neji nuzzled and kissed the exposed neck as he allowed his hand free rein. His hand traveled from her breast down to her buttocks to pull her against him. He felt her chest against his as his hand squeezed her thigh._

_Ten Ten felt his strong chest against her soft one. She didn't know how he knew what to do, but she wasn't complaining. She looked down at his eyes. Her hands came down and traveled his chest, feeling the chiseled features. She nuzzled his cheek as her hands traveled his back. Neji dipped her into another breathless kiss. This one contained all her passion even as it contained his. She felt tremors in his body as she leaned against him. When the kiss broke, she rested her head on his shoulder as he turned her body to rest against his comfortably. They sat there feeling each other's closeness. Ten Ten could hear his heartbeat in her ear as she cherished his proximity._

- _End Flashback_ -

They had stayed under the stars most of the night. She had been so close to him. She looked at Hinata.

"He...I thought he liked me, but I don't know. He won't even be near me most of the time." Hinata saw the sad face on Ten Ten and felt her heart go out to her. She filled in some blanks about the mission. It had been tough, something had happened to Neji and he had needed to be near Ten Ten. She knew from experience that when you are down often you just want to be near the person you love, if for no other reason then their love makes you feel safe. She figured she could clear up something for Ten Ten.

"Ano, I looked at the marriages in our clan. If a branch member marries outside the clan, the spouse must be branded with the caged-bird seal." Ten Ten glanced at Hinata to see her looking at Neji's back. "Our council dislikes adding new things. Once you have that seal it can never be removed. The main family and any member of the council can activate it." Hinata had practically spat the word "seal". She had spoken of her council with contempt as well. She watched Ten Ten as she thought about it.

"Hinata, could you...tonight, I mean... could you...?" Hinata smiled.

"Be scarce? Aa, I have a form I'm working on and it is best done by myself. I will meditate. You two talk. Also, tell my cousin that its rude to eavesdrop on his friend's conversation." She said the last sentence in a slightly raised voice. Neji's head ducked in embarrassment. Ten Ten smirked as they caught up to him. Hinata continued. "Neji-ni-kun, you and Ten Ten need to talk tonight. I have to work with my form, so don't worry about me." Neji looked at her with wide eyes as she smiled. Finally he nodded.

* * *

Shikamaru, Sakura and Temari arrived at the temple in time to share evening meal with the monks and arrange for a room for several days. They decided to start looking for the section tonight and then to actually start the research in the morning.

Temari looked around warily. She could see where Sakura had been coming from. There were people randomly wandering around the shelves. Some did carry books, however most of them just wandered around looking at things or muttering to themselves. Monks would show up here and there and take them somewhere, however they seemed to be doing this practically one at a time. Temari figured it would be a while before they all left. The three wandered the shelves looking for a system of sorts.

* * *

Hinata left Neji and Ten Ten near the fire and walked over to the water. They were camped near a river-fed pond. Hinata smiled as she extended her chakra int the water. She sat down gently and allowed the water to hold her as she swirled it around her. She Glanced over towards the campsite once more before closing her eyes and visiting her passenger.

-inside Hinata's mindscape-

**"Good evening, Hinata-chan.** " Hinata smiled at Mui as she sat on a coral bench. The water was clearer than it had been the first time she had visited and she could see changes. Since she had started meditation, her mind was becoming organized and she could tell. Over to one side she could see images of Naruto and further Neji, Kiba and Shino, her father and sister, and other people she cared about. She also saw images of training, the council, missions, and the compound. Her mindscape was like a sea of images of her life. She looked at Mui.

"Hello, Mui. How are you feeling tonight?" The great bird sighed as she eyed her jinchuuriki.

**"I am relaxed today. The countryside was beautiful. I enjoyed watching it pass as you spoke with your cousin's crush."**  Hinata blushed. She could hear a rebuke in that statement. She really didn't usually interfere like that, but both of them had been miserable. She looked at Mui.

"I only did what I thought would help. Just like I want to tell Neji-ni-kun about you." She saw Mui shake her head in negation, "I am aware you don't trust him, but I do. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about you and our situation. You won't trust Naruto because of Kyuubi. I'm not sure I know who to turn to. My sister isn't experienced enough and even if you trusted my father, I don't. Not with this." Hinata was panting, trying to keep control of herself.

**"Dear, do not fear your father. I sense only care from him, as I do from that cousin of yours. Your cousin has a seal that makes him less reliable. This worries me."** Hinata sighed, there wasn't much she could do against that accusation. It would simply take time for that one to prove true or false. She really didn't know how he would react to that type of attack either. She would like to think she could protect him from that type of attack, but she knew that was naive.

"I will not give up." Mui smiled, her sapphire eyes looked at her container gently.

**"That is a good philosophy, Hinata-chan. Now about your training. I would like to see you complete this jutsu during this mission. It uses the total amount of integration that we can perform with this seal."**  Hinata thought on this a moment.

"Mui, Naruto has brought Kyuubi's chakra in a solid form. Isn't that possible for us as well?" Mui regarded.

**"Possibly, however, it would place a tremendous strain on you because you cannot access my chakra directly, it would call water to act as my chakra. If there is none near I don't know what it would do."**  Hinata nodded distractedly  **"Hinata, do not try it."**  She looked at the Hyuuga with worry. To force chakra through the seal would take both their strengths and leave them very tired if not injured. Hinata nodded again, this time much more convincingly before disappearing back to her world to practice. Mui believed her, Hinata wasn't one for rash choices, but she could help worrying about the future. She couldn't give Hinata much help with this current seal. She really wished she knew where Byaka was.

* * *

Shikamaru finally gave up on figuring out a filing system as there didn't seem to be any, and decided to ask a monk. The monk, they approached looked at them a moment then turned and walked down an aisle. He met with another monk.

"Hiro, these young people wish to know in what part of our library is the demon scrolls." The second monk looked at them a moment before walking around yet another shelf. They all followed. Sakura and Temari were getting confused. Did anyone in this place know? The monk stopped to talk to another monk behind a desk, who pointed them in the direction of the back corner. The monks bowed to each other before the monk walked back there. Once there he approached a short man. Sakura, Shikamaru, and Temari followed.

This man was sitting int he corner stacking books on their ends cross-wise. He had a stack of four when they arrived. Monk Hiro stood in front of him a moment before speaking.

"Anaboko, can I ask you a question?" Sakura looked at Shikamaru and Temari in confusion. The man looked at Monk Hiro and then his followers. In a little voice the man, Anaboko spoke.

"Do you have any oranges?" Monk Hiro looked back at the group, who shook their heads, after a bewildered look. Anaboko looked satisfied. He looked at Monk Hiro. "Master, demons are in order now. In 76 under 21." With that Anaboko went back to his stacking. Sakura looked at Temari in confusion as Shikamaru watched Monk Hiro. The monk thanked Anaboko and walked away. Once they were in the hallway, he turned to the chunnin.

"That part is closed for the evening. I suggest you come tomorrow. Ask for section 76D" The monk bowed to the three and walked off before they could ask questions. Shikamaru sighed.

"I guess we get to wait until tomorrow. Let's go." Temari looked at him, annoyed.

"Looks like it." Sakura growled. She turned to Shikamaru.

"Wait a minute. What was with that? 76 and 21 and now 76D? What the heck?" She followed the other two as they walked to their rooms. Shikamaru turned to her.

"He said ' _In 76 under 21_ ' So it is in section 76 and under section 21, which we passed by. I would assume 76 D is the part of 76 under section 21." Temari nodded briefly as she settled on her sleeping pallet. Sakura stared at him a moment before deciding this could wait until they were all more alert. She nodded to them and went to sleep on her pallet.

As she tried to sleep, she couldn't get that man out of her head.  _Do you have any oranges? ... Anaboko, can I ask you a question? ... Anaboko_  ... _Anaboko_... _Anaboko_... It wasn't right.  _Anaboko_... _Hollow_  She shuddered as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Neji sighed as he watched Hinata walk off. He knew he was supposed to talk to Ten Ten, but in truth, he didn't know what to say. The mission had been very embarrassing for him. He had been caught in a genjutsu, fought his teammates, and broken down in front of Ten Ten. He was very ashamed of the mission. It was everything he had been taught was weak.

"Neji?" He looked at Ten Ten like she might bite him. "Are you going to actually drop that stick before you burn yourself?" Neji looked down to see that the stick he had been poking the fire with was on fire and burning nicely. His hand was next if he didn't drop it. Tossing it in the fire he sighed in annoyance at himself.

"Ten Ten..." She looked at him and then down at the ground.

"Is it really that complicated for you to talk about?" Neji looked at her in surprise. She looked at the stars. "The last mission you said that everyone had given up on you, you couldn't bare it. Now you've given up on us."

"What do you mean?" His question hung in the air as she looked at him sadly.

"Us, Hinata, Lee, and myself. You think we can't handle being close to you, so you push us away." Neji looked at the fire.

"You don't understand my family Ten Ten." She frowned.

"Hinata told me what happens to people who marry into the branch of the clan." Neji's eyes raced to hers in surprise. "Did you think I wouldn't find out? I had guessed it already, she just confirmed it." Neji looked down again.

"I cannot protect you from my family. I...You are in danger when you are with me." His eyes closed as he said this. Ten Ten stood up sharply.

"And I'm not in any danger at all when I'm not around you?! I'm a kunoichi! I can handle danger! I can defend myself!" She stomped in front of him and knelt down. Gripping his chin, she stared fiercely in his eyes. "I can deal with anything, as long as you are here to help me bare it." Neji's eyes widened as he stared into her determined gaze.

"But, the council-"

"Is being changed! Your cousin and uncle are working on it. The changes can already be seen in your home.  _I_  can tell the difference in the people! Believe in them! They need your support now! Just like I do." Ten Ten's gaze dropped to the ground as she fell down to her knees with the last statement. Neji looked at her, slightly frightened. Her voice was quiet and unsure now. "I wanted to be near you, to help and support you as you guarded your cousin. I just thought maybe...you...I...everyone needs support, even you." Neji hated to hear her voice sound so defeated. He realized that she was right. For years she had been his backbone. When everyone else told him one thing or another, she simply would smile or cheer him on, believing in him all the way. She had given him her determination back before he even realized they were friends.

His hands fisted on his knees.

"I do...I do need you. Ten Ten...I'm sorry. I'm so weak. I was weak. I can't let you be hurt because of me though. Please, Ten Ten." He was close to tears. The idea that his family would harm her was too much for him. He felt her hand glide over his cheek, wiping his single tear away.

"Being afraid isn't wrong, Neji-kun. Fear isn't a weakness. Needing someone isn't failure. Courage isn't the absence of fear, just the understanding that something is more important than fear. Am I more important, Neji?" Neji looked at her. He thought back. Hinata had been afraid and had needed Naruto. He did not consider her weak. Naruto had needed friends, people, and he was one of the strongest people Neji knew. He saw Ten Ten. She needed him. She was always strong. His voice caught in his throat as he realized how much this must have hurt her. His finger gently lifted her chin.

" _You are important..._ " His whisper was against her cheek as his forehead protector leaned against her forehead. He felt his cheek soak with tears as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close in relief and happiness. " _You are very important to me..._ " They knelt there for some time in their embrace. Ten Ten was content to let him stay put. She wanted him to know that she was there for him as long as he needed her.

* * *

Naruto was sitting on his pallet. His two bonds were tingling with uncertainty. Both Neji and Hinata were upset about something, Neji more-so than Hinata. He didn't want to interrupt but he did send a sense of comfort their way before he returned to his study of shogi with Jiraiya.

* * *

Neji felt Naruto's concern and comfort as he pulled away from Ten Ten slightly. He looked at her carefully.

"Ten Ten, I would like to...well...explore this relationship." Both parties blushed. "But, please, promise me, we will not show any of it in the village or anywhere it could get back to my family's council." Ten Ten looked into his worried eyes.

"Even Hinata?" Neji shook his head.

"Hinata is okay, and I trust Lee but...no one else. Is that alright?" Ten Ten smiled. It was a step forward. An important one. They were beginning to understand each other. She smirked as she leaned toward him.

"But when we're alone, I get you to myself." She gently brushed his lips with hers. She could feel his smile as he agreed and pulled her in closer for a more passionate kiss. Ten Ten leaned back slightly as she wrapped her arms around the Hyuuga boy, allowing them to fall over. She wasn't worried, at the last moment, Neji's hand caught the ground as it raced towards her back. He gently lowered them to the ground as she felt the thrill of being held by a person she trusted so completely. She felt his hands, gently and strong, travel her shoulders and arms to her hands. She felt her hands grasped by her sides as he pressed his body into hers. Their kiss broke with moans by both of them. Neji's lips traveled to her neck as arched into the feeling.

Neji felt her moan vibrate through them as he brought his elbows up to either side of her head to prop himself up. She looked at him with glazed eyes and Neji closed his eyes as her lips rose to his. Then the world turned as she pushed on his shoulder with one hand, the other around his waist. Using her substantial strength, she reversed their positions, her hands ending on either side of his head. Neji stared up in disorientation for a moment before her head dipped for a kiss. His brought his hands up to cradle her lower back. Her hands traveled through his hair. Neji started as he felt his hitae loosen and brushed back. He opened his mouth to protest but she took that opportunity to explore his mouth with her tongue. All his thought processes stopped with the sensation. He felt desire course through him as he stroked her tongue in time with her. When they broke for air he panted as he looked at her soft eyes in question. She reached up and kissed his forehead where he knew his seal was located. His breath caught in his throat as she gently looked into his eyes.

"Shhhhh, Saiai." She rested her head on his chest as he pulled her close. He closed his eyes as he relaxed.

Nearly an hour later Ten Ten opened her eyes to see Hinata sitting across the fire, reading a scroll. Ten Ten smiled as she felt Neji's firm grip on her. She tightened her grasp on his shirt. Hinata looked over and saw Ten Ten awake. She smiled and placed a finger in front of her mouth in a shushing motion. Her Byakugan was activated. Ten Ten understood. Hinata was keeping watch. She frowned at Hinat, concerned. Hinata shook her head. She mouthed the word tomorrow and went back to her reading. Ten ten pulled the blanket Hinata must have draped over them higher and fell back asleep.

* * *

Barely a few days journey away, Naruto smiled as he and Hinata lazily discussed the scroll about shogi. She was helping him learn. When she had shown him the image of Neji and Ten Ten and the idea that she would keep watch all night, he too volunteered to stay up and keep her company. They were discussing strategies until dawn.

* * *

Sakura, Shikamaru and Temari wandered the library after eating a brief breakfast, they went down into the basement of the library. After some difficulty they found section 76 and then stopped. They had no idea how to go about finding 76D in 76. They were about to hunt down a monk when a young woman came around the corner. She looked at them, startled.

"What are you doing down here? Are you lost?" She seemed sane enough. Sakura finally nodded to her.

"We're looking for 76D." She nodded.

"This way." She led them down a row and to another shelf. "These 28 shelves are in 76D." Temari and Sakura's jaws hit the floor as they swore you could hear a "Troublesome" muttered behind them. The girl must have seen this because she asked. "I could point you in a more specific direction if I knew what you were looking for." Temari answered as Sakura nodded quickly.

"We are researching demons." Shikamaru added.

"Specifically the tailed beasts." The woman frowned.

"Why are you looking up them?" Her voice was neutral, but Sakura bristled at it all the same.

"Because we have friends that contain them! There is nothing wrong with that! Now are you going to help us or just stand there?!" Sakura panted from her outbreak as the woman giggled.

"Chill out, jeez. My name is Yuuki. I recently re-ordered all the demon stuff. Come on, the Bijuu section is over here." Yuuki led them to a part of the shelves. Pointing to the shelves she showed them where it started and ended. "Before you start I was wondering if you would let me tell you a tale." They looked at her. "You won't find it in here, because it isn't bijuu specific, but I think you'll enjoy it nonetheless." Shikamaru and Temari look at Sakura and they all shrugged and nodded.

The Story of Demons

It was along ago. There was a large village near here. They lived together in relative peace. One day a villager found a creature in the woods. The creature said his name was Ashi and he was lost. He was trapped in this dimension. See, his people lived in another dimension. He needed three weeks to get his strength back. He begged the village for help.

With some small reluctance, they did. They fed and sheltered him and in return he used his great power and spells to protect them from pirates and disease. After three weeks passed, he walked to the center of the village and opened a portal to his dimension. Before he stepped through he shed his disguise fully and showed the people his true form. They smiled and watched as he went home.

Several weeks passed and on the next full moon a portal in the center of the village opened. The villagers were happy because they thought that their friend was visiting, but it was not to be. Ashi had returned with friends. They demanded food and entertainment. When they were denied, they began to destroy parts of the village until the villagers gave in. When the sun rose the next morning, Ashi and his followers bid the villagers goodbye with a promise to visit next full moon.

After several years of this the villagers fell into despair that they would ever be free of the creature that seemed to remain forever young. Then one day, a week or so before he was due a young woman appeared in the village. She said she was searching for Ashi and had come to fight him. The villagers were skeptical but gave her the benefit of the doubt eventually. She told them to evacuate when Ashi was to appear in case their fight harmed the town.

On the day of the visit, they did just that. All the villagers left, but they missed one. One small boy remained behind in a house on the edge of the village hill. He saw the entire battle. And he saw the woman defeat Ashi and seal his portal forever. The villagers rejoiced. They asked her over and over what the secret was, how he could not return. She told them a secret to his kind. Without a stable portal his kind arrived in three stages; instinct, intelligence, intent. The first stage was simple reactions to what was happening around them. the second simply assumed that everyone was an enemy, like the first, but calculated the perfect fight. The last step was the one they control. Without a portal, he would dare risking coming here and being vulnerable while his third stage arrived.

The villagers accepted the woman into their village and she became a swift hunter. It wasn't long before they noticed that every new moon she slipped into the woods for the night. When they asked her about it she told them that she had always done it and to please allow her bizarre activity. They agreed and little was said.

Nearly a year later, the boy who had watched her glorious battle had grown into a young man. He was not satisfied with her answer and one night he followed her. He found her chained to a thick tree and unconscious. He raced back to the village to tell the others what had befallen their hero. Together the villagers came to the tree and saw her chained there. They broke her chains quickly but could not revive her. They sat there all night with her and waited to see if she would revive with the sunrise. She did.

When the sun rose over the trees her body transformed. It attacked the villagers blindly, screaming in anger and fear. Suddenly it stopped and looked around. It then picked up the chains left and started to use them as weapons. It attacked the villagers over and over again. Finally it stopped. It gazed at them in confusion as its body shrunk back to that of the woman. It looked at the villagers, but they were not fooled by it's appearance anymore. They had seen that it was the same as Ashi. They decided not to give it a chance to find its friends. It did not fight them as they tossed the broken chains around its body and bound it to the tree. They took a spear and thrust it through her, claiming that her kind will never enslave humans again.

After they had walked away in joyous triumph, the boy knelt beside the dying woman-thing. It looked at the boy gently.

"I'm sorry" it said "I'm sorry our criminal made its way to your world" The boy looked at it. "I was sent to eliminate the threat to you and confine Ashi to our dimension so we could punish him for his crimes. Afterward, I stayed just encase. However without visiting my own dimension once a moon I would have died." It breathed heavily, trying to keep enough breath to finish. "I can only hope my death will ease the suffering of the village and repent for our carelessness and give peace and a sense of safety to your people. Please, tell this story, so others know of my kind. Never should any people believe they are better or more deserving than another." The boy could take no more. He undid the chains around the person he had admired for so long. As it lay on the ground dying it gave one last statement to the boy. "I like the sky. It always looked so hopeful and tru..."

It died. The boy howled in his misery as the body reverted back to its original shape. Finally, he rose and carried the creature down to the center of the village. Laying its body on the alter in the center where it had fought Ashi, he turned to the curious villagers that had approached. Angrily, he shouted what it had said with its dying breaths. The villagers were stubborn and refused to believe. But standing there, looking at its body, the villager began to see the woman they had worked with and come to know. Feeling sad they asked what they could do. The boy replied.

"Teach. Teach understanding and peace. Tell this story to others. In so doing, she will live." The villagers tried but too many would not listen and the story became lost in time. But now the brave soul lives on everywhere. For it was decided to call these creatures demons after the first true demon they met; Demonica.

End

"The boy eventually wrote down the story, before he died and entrusted it to his daughter. It ended its journey in this temple well over a century ago. The rumor is that Demonica is buried here on this mountain on the highest point, where she can always see the sky." Yuuki smiled slightly as she watched the awe on her listeners faces. They had sat at the end of one of the shelves at some point during the story.

"So Demonica really came to help, but she couldn't tell the villagers out of fear?" Yuuki nodded.

"Yes, she wanted nothing more than to protect the villagers. There is good and evil in all of us, human and demon alike. Eventually Ashi became a word for evil in remembrance of that creature." Yuuki sighed as she rose.

"Well, I'm off for lunch. I'll be around for another day or so before I move on if you have any questions." Sakura looked at her.

"Why are you here?" Yuuki considered her a moment.

"I needed a place to collect my thoughts before I strike out on my own again. I also help out the monks with their helpers."

"Helpers?" Yuuki smiled softly.

"Most of the people here, who are not monk are here because they have no where to go. They were mistreated or even tortured and now have no place to be so they are here. Here they are not judged or persecuted. This is a secret sanctuary. Eveyone believes in the curse so they never know that people the consider dangerous, but are really misunderstood live here in peace." She stretched as they rose. "Alright, those are your books. Have fun!" She walked off as they stared after her.

* * *

Neji slowly became aware of his surroundings, including a bright, persistent light that was shining in his eyes. As he tried to move he felt a weight on his chest and realized that he wasn't in a bed but on the hard ground.

"Relax, we're fine." Ten Ten's lazy voice brought the previous night into sharp relief. He inhaled quickly as he tried to reveiw what had happened calmly. He had talked with Ten Ten. They had agreed to be close, secretly. They had...he blushed at that thought. THey had fallen asleep, in the middle of a mission, with his cousin near.  _Hinata!_  He opened his eye and activated his Byakugan quietly and located his cousin. She was sitting to one side next to the burned out fire. He opened his eyes, minus the jutsu, and looked at her. She was scanning the area with her Byakugan and then looked at him. Seeing him looking at her, she simply smiled and returned to her task, which appeared to be so form of jewelry craft. Neji blushed lightly as he tried to sit up without waking Ten Ten.

"Oh, you don't need to get up yet, Neji-ni-kun. Ten Ten is still asleep. I don't want to disturb her." Neji blushed and barely kept from stuttering.

"Hinata-sama! Have you been awake all night?" Hinata frown slightly at him before nodding.

"Hai, we are on a mission. I kept watch." Neji struggled to find something to say that wasn't embarrassing. Hinata smiled at the floundering boy. He really looked more her age when he was like this, unguarded. She rose and knelt next to his head. "Its okay Neji-ni-kun. Relax and rest. I'll keep watch. You two can split tonight's watches. We're safe." Neji looked at his cousin as she stroked his forehead. He tensed on reflex, just managing to keep from raising his chakra and alert the girl in his arms. He watched Hinata with wide eyes as she smiled sadly. "Someday, cousin, someday you will be able to be free, I swear." She rose and sat back in her seat and continued to braid wire into a bracelet.

Several minutes later, Ten Ten started to waken. Sitting up she looked at Hinata.

"Well, Hinata, what do we have for breakfast?" Neji turned red as Ten Ten sat on his lap as he sat up. Hinata smiled and handed her some tea and jerky. She could see what Ten Ten was doing and it was adorable. She giggled lightly as Neji took his breakfast blushing.

* * *

After a day of looking through books the three fell into bed exhausted. They had decided to take notes and tomorrow they were going to review the findings together. Sakura was glad they had come though. She really wanted to understand the bijuu now. They always seemed so different. In fact, that was what everyone focused on, but now she was coming to realize how similar humans were to demons. She felt much better knowing that, and knowing the reason behind the people in the temple.

She sighed, it had been a good day.

* * *

It had been a good day, Neji decided. Despite their late start, they had made good time to their second campsite. Neji sat by the newly made fire as Ten Ten set up traps for the night. Hinata was putting away their dishes from the meal that he had cooked.

"Hinata-sama?" She looked up. "Is something bothering you?" Hinata frowned slightly at the question before shaking her head.

"No, not really. Why do you ask Neji-ni-kun?" He looked into the fire as he thought.

"You've been more closed in the last month. Not just to me, you rarely train with your team now, or your sister and father. I heard your father talking to Shino in the street a week ago. He's worried about you. Hinata-sama, what is going on?" Hinata looked at the fire to avoid her cousin's gaze. She could hear Mui's groan in her head.  _ **He is way too observant when it deals with something not related to HIS feelings**_  Hinata silently agreed as she faced her cousin.

"Gomen, Neji-ni-kun. I'm just trying a new form and its taking a lot of effort. I'm sorry to make you worry." Neji frowned. Her tone was apologetic and familiar. He watched her bowed head a second before it hit him. It was her old voice. The one she used before Naruto came around, before they became friends, before she found confidence. It was a shield she used to use against the world. Just. Like. Naruto. He frowned at this change in her behavior. He looked at her hands to see them fisted. If he pushed her further on this, she would probably even start the finger touching thing again. But he didn't know what to do. He wanted her trust, and pushing her would be a step in the wrong direction for Hinata, who had been forced to do what others thought was best for her most of her life, and then pressured to do more when she couldn't meet standards or thrown away. Pushing her would be too much like that, but he felt that he couldn't leave her like this.

Hearing a sound in the woods, he identified Ten Ten as he thought. Then he had an idea. Actually it came from Ten Ten. He rose and knelt in front of Hinata. She looked at him in surprise as he knelt on one knee uncertainly. Her worried eyes firmed his decision.

"Its okay, Hinata-sama" He pulled her into a hug. She just froze. "You don't have to tell me. I can wait until your ready." Hinata's hands came around his shoulders to fist in his shirt as she buried her face in his neck. Neji rested his cheek against her ear as he waited. Like Ten Ten had been last night, he was content to let her take what she wanted from this hug. He felt her inhale as she took in his scent. Her voice mumbled against his skin.

"Arigato, Neji-ni-kun. Arigato, Itoko." Neji sighed softly as he held her loosely. Over his shoulder she saw Ten Ten sit across the clearing and smile. Pulling back she felt Mui's happiness and Naruto's concern. She looked at her cousin. "Arigato." He nodded. Ten Ten came over.

"Now, Hinata, you are over-tired from being up all night. Bed!" Hinata chuckled as she lay on her pallet.

Naruto smiled as he felt her relax. He sent her soft feelings of love and comfort and she dreamed.

Naruto smiled even as Neji and Ten Ten held each other and kept watch. Across the forest, in a small temple, three chunnin slept knowing they would understand and help their friends upon the morrow.

Nature is often hidden

Sometimes overcome,

Seldom extinguished

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Notes:  
> Hi, all. Whew, 9,000 words. This is will have another chapter.
> 
> The title is the first part of the quote "Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished." by Francis Bacon
> 
> I know this is a little jumpy but i have several goals here; deal with Ten Ten and Hinata, Hinata and Neji, and Shikamaru and Sakura's research.
> 
> Anaboko-hollow, hole
> 
> Saiai-beloved
> 
> Ashi-evil
> 
> in Japanese her name would be Yuuki and would be changed to Youkai, but I've been using demon instead of youkai so... That is who Yuuki was going to be named after, but I decided it didn't fit as well.
> 
> "There is good and evil in all of us, human and gargoyle alike" is from Gargoyles, the awesome TV show.
> 
> Itoko-cousin
> 
> About the category. Until I finish the story I can't tell which it will suit best so it will change until the end of the story at which point I will choose a set of characters and genre.
> 
> Ja Ne


	3. History is Written by the Victors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuuki is from my story [ Three](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12845076).

 

Sakura, Shikamaru and Temari sat around a table to discuss what they had learned. They had divided what they had learned into categories. They had discussed the difference in chakra and how many demons resembled animal in their dimension to blend in when they came here.

"We should start with the history." At the other's nods, Sakura continued. "So Bijuu entered known history quite some time ago. Eventually seals were made to keep them from attacking. They-"

"That's not quite true." They turned to see Yuuki. She was standing behind them. Actually she had been listening for some time. "Seal were created by the bijuu for two reasons. The first was as a friend. It allowed them to experience this world and in return the person gained greater power and life. The other was in revenge, demons fighting each other captured them in humans." Sakura frowned.

"I did read that but it was in a D book. A is generally what one marks the best books." Yuuki chuckled.

"I did that on purpose. I marked D and A not for the alphabet but for Demonica and Ashi. The one's with D are far more accurate and unbiased. Anyway, eventually humans began to use the seals on their own and the bijuu with a few exceptions won't kill if they can help it. Besides they have the luxury to bide their time. They live for freakin ever." They nodded as they listened. It seemed their fortune to have arrived while Yuuki was in the temple. Shikamaru, who had noticed her standing there for some time, spoke next.

"Since you seem to know so much could you correct any other errors?" She looked started before she smiled and pulled up a chair.

"As you wish. First, earlier, demons don't resemble our animals, its the other way around. Our animals are descended from them. They didn't really attack humans as much as they played pranks. The younger ones didn't know how fragile humans were so sometimes they were a little dangerous to us. They are taught from a very young age to respect all life and only kill when nescessary. Although they have their criminals as we do, their society as a whole follows this philosophy."

* * *

Neji, Hinata and Ten Ten made good time as they arrived at the appointed spot several hours early. Ten Ten sat on the bank of a nearby river as Neji and Hintata practiced.

Hinata sighed as she watched her cousin struggle with the water. He was trying, but that was part of the problem. Unlike regular jutsu, this particular thing was as natural as breathing to a user, it had to be. It is the same as drawing a circle, the slower and more meticulous you do it, the worse it looks. Finally she reached out to his wrists.

"Ano, Neji-ni-kun, please stop for a moment." Neji looked at her slightly annoyed. She kept stopping him. He was sure he was close, he just needed more time between these stops.

"Hinata-sama?" She was looking at the water in concern before she looked at him.

"Maybe we should stop for a few minutes and eat something?" She hoped the time would slow him down some and she was trying to figure out a way to tell him what she felt from the water. This is where she prefered her way of communication with Naruto.

"Hinata-sama, I can continue. You may take a break if you are tired." Hinata looked at him before shaking her head.

"I think we both need a quick break." Her voice was quiet but still determined. Neji looked at her, seriously annoyed. He knew he could continue longer.

" _I_  do not need a break! I'm not tired by such a short workout, Hinata-sama." His stress on the word I wasn't lost on either girl. Ten Ten barely stifled her gasp as she looked at Hinata, expecting tears or shame. Hinata, on the other hand was starting to become annoyed herself. Both at her cousins words and tone and at her own in-ability to articulate the correct method. At his words, though, she looked at him with a hard gaze that she had adopted near her father recently, though he never actually saw it. She had had enough of her family's idea that she was worthless and weak.

"I'm not the one snapping at my cousin." Her quiet voice stilled the clearing. Neji froze as his words hit him and he realized what he had actually said. He spun towards his cousin, slightly frantically.

"Hinata-sama, I-" Her hand appeared in front of his face to stop his sentence as she frowned.

"Neji do you remember yesterday morning, when you asked me to teach you?" Neji gulped slightly. He didn't want to loose his cousin, not as a friend, not as a teacher, not as family. Slowly he nodded to her question. She looked at him a moment, then gave him a shove.

It wasn't a hard shove, just enough to overbalance him and force him to fall backwards. Instinctively, he thrust chakra between himself and the water and landed on the surface of the water in disgust and confusion. It took incredible concentration to switch into using the water to hold him up as opposed to his own chakra and he could go about a fourth of the way. Now he would have to start over. He looked at Hinata to try and figure a reason. His eyes widened as she looked at him then fell backwards herself.

Immediately the water rose around her and cradled her gently. She sat and looked at Neji.

"You are still using your chakra to control the water. You must stop." Her face was firm and determined. Neji looked at her with new eyes as he saw the girl Naruto had brought to their village, the one that would take over the Hyuuga family someday, he saw his true cousin. Hinata sighed and closed her eyes. She sank into the water slightly before opening them again. She looked over at Ten Ten.

"Ten Ten, please come here a moment." Ten Ten looked at her in question and rose. She looked at the water skeptically before stepping onto it, trusting Hinata to keep her up. Hinata whispered in her ear a moment. Ten Ten thought about it a moment before nodding. Hinata motioned her to follow.

"Neji-ni-kun, we will return in a moment." They walked downt eh river as Neji sat in the river, looking confused. He didn't know what he was doing wrong. He felt the water and could feel his chakra and Hinata's chakra interspersed thoroughly. He sighed as he tried to integrate with it again when he looked up to see that Ten Ten had returned. She was standing in front of him waiting.

"Ten Ten? What's going on? Where's Hinata?" Ten Ten smiled slightly.

"She'll be back in a moment. She and I have an idea." Ten Ten smiled but Neji didn't see it as a tree behind her began to fall towards her. With his chakra locked in the water, he couldn't jump to her. He yelled to her earning a confused look. With a great wrench, he pulled himself free of the water and wrapped his arms around her. Except she wasn't there.

"That worked well Hinata." He looked to the side to see Ten Ten standing there watching. Hinata walked up next to her. She smiled sadly.

"Gomen Neji-ni-kun. It was all I could think of, you weren't understanding." Neji looked at her in confusion. She gestured to the clearing which was now soaked. "You were still tied to the water and it reacted to your desperation. When you wrapped your arms around Ten Ten, the water did the same. When you mix your chakra with water it reacts to your wants and needs, not to your commands." Neji looked at her in amazement.

"So it really is pointless to be able to make it circle?" Hinata smiled slightly.

"Not entirely, it is good to be able to control how the water interprets your needs, but the need for it to circle was overpowered by your frustration and your need to be strong. Instead you churned the water." Neji looked at her in confusion.

"If the water was so chaotic, how were we standing on it?" Hinata looked at him startled.

"Because the water has much more of my chakra then yours and I needed it to be constant." Neji looked at his cousin in surprise. That meant that she had been using twice if not three times as much chakra as he. Hinata smiled as she helped the water back into the river and settled on it.

"Now that we've taken a break, lets continue, unless you're too tired?" Neji stood and breathed a moment before looking at his very composed cousin. He bowed to her.

"Gomen, Hinata-sensei. I am very tired and I believe it is time to rest." Hinata smiled and Neji saw her eyes finally soften.

* * *

Yuuki was still being grilled after dinner had come and gone.

"Mates? That's an interesting topic. Demons are more instinctive than we are. Their chakra forms bonds with their mates and family long before thye even realize it. While they do still seek pleasure with other demons, their mate is the only on they seek offspring. Mates are different to them. A mate is a person that truly understands each other and trusts each other. A truly mated pair is quite rare. More often the two are partners turned into lovers." She halted to take a drink, ignoring the wide stares. Sakura found her voice first.

"What if they want to be mates?" Yuuki looked at her sadly.

"It doesn't work. They either are or aren't, there isn't an in between. You need to understand that mates, to a demon, is not the only bond, simply the only that involves offspring. They also form familial bonds. Same idea without the offspring side."

"So in effect demons form bonds with any whose important enough to them? Yuuki looked thoughtful.

"Not quite, the bond and trust must be mutual, equal and deep." She looked at the a few minutes as they assimilated this information. Once she had given them what she deemed enough time, she spoke again, "You mentioned Bijuu yesterday. Why them and not demons in general?" They looked at each other. Finally Temari spoke, since Shukaku wasn't much of a secret.

"My brother is Jinchuuriki." Yuuki eyed the other two but withheld any opinion.

"The Bijuu are different." At their puzzled looks, she continued, "They aren't just the strongest, though Nine-tails tends to be. They have specific jobs to do." They were watching her advidly.

"Just as we have monks and Hokage and sannin, demons have position of different importance. The Bijuu are responsible for the balance in the dimensions. When a new Bijuu is appointed, the appointment must ratified by most of the other Bijuu. Each tailed beast has a quality they represent. If any demons wants to seek quidance in this quality, they must find, and convince, the appropiate tailed beast to help."

"What are the qualities?" Yuuki thought as she ticked them off with her fingers with Seiryu's help.

"Well, Shukaku is the current Ichibi, has been as long as our recorded history, and he is in charge of wisdom. His element is wind. Then Genbu of earth has been the Nibi forever and a day. He is in chrage of knowledge. Isonade of the water has been the Sanbi for a couple centuries and is in charge of suffering. I believe Suzaku, the fire pheonix, is the Yonbi, also been around since the dinosaurs and she's in charge of fun or partying. That one doesn't always seem to fit the legends. Mui of the water is the most controversial bijuu in our records. She has quite the history. You should look it up in The Water Hawk, it is generally accepted tht Mui is the topic of this story. She has power over all elements to some extent as the Gobi and is in charge of harmony and balance. Seiryu of the ice is the current Rokubi, that has changes twice over the last several centuries, and she is in charge of grace and motion. Byaka disappeared from the radar 15 odd years ago, but she was of wind and in charge of strategy. Orochi of earth is the Hachibi right now. That is the position that changes the most so it might have changes in the last 50 years or so. He stands for conquerer and is constantly being overthrown. He doesn't control earth, that is simply his base element, his real element is souls of the dead. Youko of fire is kyuubi and the most powerful. He stands for rulers, just, loyal and true. They all symbolize the forces in our world and theirs. There isn't a lightening user right now but Orochi replaced one so they'll cycle back in eventually."

They three shinobi nodded. Yuuki stood and stretched.

"I hate to say this since you guys were the first people I've ever seen to have an honest interest, but I have to scat. Listen, you two are from Konoha, right?" They nodded. "Go to their library and ask for books written by the author Neko no Shichi. She wrote a lot about demons and it is one of the most unbiased views you can find. Ciao." She waved to them and poofed away from the very stunned chunnin. Sakura, Temari and Shikamaru looked at each other and continued to discuss what Yuuki told them. They had accepted that people, helpful people, were sometimes bizarre. Before they left they reviewed some other books ont he subject and found some more interesting facts.

The next day they agreed to spread this knowledge among the people they trusted both in Suna and Konoha. Temari waved as she took off for home. Shikamaru looked after her a moment before joining Sakura in discussing how to explain everything to their friends and how it all applied to Naruto.

* * *

They had found their messenger around lunch. It had taken nearly all day to explain to the messenger that they were, in fact, from Konoha to the scrawnly little man. By the end of it they weren't able to go far for the night. They walked the path along the cliff, looking for a camping spot for the night.

* * *

Shikamaru looked at the stars from his roof when Asuma popped in.

"How'd it go?" Shikamaru looked at the man he most respected.

"Hn" Asuma smiled.

"Good. In case you did't know, Hinata, Neji and Ten Ten are out of the village for the next couple of days. I happen to know that the two days after they are supposed to return all of you chunnins have off. Good night." Shikamaru looked thoughtfully at the stars for another few moments before he heard his sensei's voice. "Are you going to day dream about that Suna kunoichi's body all night?"

Shikamaru grimaced  _Troublesome_  Still, he thought carefully as he looked at the stars, she definitely was a cunning person. Maybe they could play shogi sometime.

* * *

Neji dived for Ten Ten. The man had come out of nowhere. He was after the scroll they had to deliver. Neji rolled Ten Ten out of the way as he threw a log towards the two chunnin. Hinata distracted him by leaping on his back. He was a mountain of a man but not one for strategy. in fact, the only consistant strategy was to throw things at his opponents. Hinata plunged her kunai into his chest, or at least the part she could reach. The man reached back and grabbed her and threw her into her teammates. Their combined weight and her momentum sent them flying over the ledge.  _ **Oh dear!**_  Hinata silently agreed with Mui when she heard the hawk,  _Not Good!_

As they had fallen, Neji had kept his wits enough to shove the girls in the direction of the rapidly passing cliffside. Ten Ten got out her kunai on a rope and frown as she was still too far away to use it. That man had been very strong to push them this far over the ledge. Hinata was frantically trying to find a way to help both Ten Ten and Neji. Feeling Mui become very nervous, she had an idea.

Spinning, she gripped Ten Ten's arm, pulling her closer. Then she shoved with all her strength with her feet. This sent Ten Ten towards the cliffside and Hinata hurtling out into air, where her cousin was falling. Hinata reached out and grabbed Neji's wrist. Neji looked at her in surprise as she pulled him closer to her. She had taken out a piece of rope as she had shot towards him. Pulling his arms around her she wrapped the rope around his wrists, preventing him from letting go, which she was sure he would out of surprise more than anything else.

"Hinata-sama, What-?" Hinata held up a finger for quiet. She smiled at him.

"Hang on tight" She reached within herself. She wasn't worried about herself. They were falling towards a lake. The water, once they were close enough, would spring up and cup her, but while she could breath underwater for a short time thanks to Mui, Neji couldn't.  _Mui, I'm sorry. I can't loose him!_ She felt Mui's understanding and agreement. As she forced herself into a state of mind for this task, a memory nudged to the surface. She allowed the memory to take her with it, not realizing that she was speaking aloud.

Neji was trying to figure out what his cousin was doing. She had caught up to him somehow and he couldn't release her to send her towards the cliff where he saw Ten Ten hanging, having finally gotten her rope around a boulder. She was rapidly descending to get to her teammates when they hit ground. He looked back at Hinata in fright when she began to speak. Actually it was more like a chant but whatever it was, with every word her chakra grew exponentially as her voice got deeper and richer.

" **I call forth fifth of the bijuu**

**Elementalist Gobi of unity.** "

_She was screaming as she ran in the fire. all the doors she knew of were cut off. Turning a corner she ran into her cousin who was panting. The four-year old grabbed her hand and they raced away from the smoke. She cried out when she stubbed her toe on a piece of broken wood but they kept running. They turned into an abandoned room. She shoved her_ _cousin_ _under the table as the ceiling began to collapse. He pulled her under before she was crushed. She felt a piece of wood hit her hard on the back before her cousin grabbed her. He held her close in fright as they coughed._

" **From Darkness I pull Thee**

**From Death I bring Thee**

**From Dimensions I find Thee**

**From Life I call Thee  
**

**From Light I beg Thee** "

_She looked up as she heard her name screamed. Her mother was near. Crying, she screamed back. She was scared and wanted her Okaa-san and Otou-san. Her cousin was coughing hard. She wrapped her shirt around his mouth, still wet from her initial dunk. She had been taught to soak herself and cover her mouth in the case of a fire. She looked up to see her mother reach her._

_"Hina-chan! Neji-chan!" Okaa-san pulled them close. Above them they heard the ceiling creak. The doorway was already blocked. Okaa-san looked up in fear, then at the two children. Okaa-san looked at them. "Hina-chan, do you remember the water finding trick?" She nodded quickly. She always learned everything her Okaa-san taught her. "Find water, dear! Find it!" Her Okaa-san's urgent voice sent her chakra out to locate the familiar calmness water brought. She pointed at the floor near them._

_"Okaa-san, it there." Okaa-san smiled then winced as she felt the fire behind her. Closing her eyes she began a chant that Hinata knew she would remember somehow for the rest of her life._

" **For Faith do I scream**

**For Peace do I kneel**

**For Hope do I crawl**

**For Passion do I shatter**

**For Life do I surrender** "

_The water burst from the floor in the shape of a great bird. It covered the three Hyuuga as the fire raged around them. She cried as she saw her Okaa-san screaming in pain. Her cousin tried to get her to calm down even though he looked as upset as she did. She let him hold her as she watched her Okaa-san looked at her eyes. Their eyes connected as her Okaa-san's hand reached out to her cheek._

_"My daughter. My nephew. I will not loose either of you!" Her Okaa-san's voice became stronger as she poured more and more water into their shield. When, at last, the fire died down, her Okaa-san collapsed on her and her cousin. She was crying as she screamed._

_"Okaa-san! Otou-san! Otou-san, Onegai!" They were found a few moments later by her father and her uncle. Both men clutched their child into their arms as med-nin from the Hyuuga looked over her Okaa-san._

_It was some time before her Okaa-san was able to play with water again._

" **By the bonds of passion**

**I reach you!**

**Through the chains of man**

**I pull you!** "

Neji looked on in amazement as a distant memory was brought to mind. A large difference was that up here, there was no water.

"Hinata-sama!"

" **I offer my soul to thee**

**as a home**

**I give my blood to thee**

**as a tool**

**I share my life with thee**

**as a kin** "

Ten looked over to see them plummeting towards earth and doing practically nothing about. She hurried off the cliff and down to the ground. Once there she raced towards them.

" **Thus I pull from beyond the seal**

**From my body be free**

**Gobi, MUI!** "

Neji looked on in horror as his cousin let out a full throated scream that sent chills through his entire body. Her back arched as her eyes scrunched in pain. Neji tried to get his hands free to no avail. His cousin's arms came out eagle-spread and her eyes opened in release. In a rush of blue chakra, a giant bird that Neji had seen once when he was young, soared over them. In a splash of red, Hinata grew feathers and wings. Looking down at her cousin, Neji saw that her eyes were lavender with large endless pupils. She wasn't Hinata. Leaning closer, she opened her wings and banked their rapid descent.

Ten Ten stood in awe. The amount of chakra that had just hovered over the Hyuuga in the air was larger than she had ever felt. It surpassed Naruto's when he had fed chakra to Neji just under year ago. She watched as Hinata grew red wings and glide towards the ground gently. Shaking herself she ran towards their landing point.

Neji and Hinata gently set down, Hinata slicing the rope around Neji's wrists when they were a foot or so off the ground. He noticed her talons as he landed and got his bearings.

"Hinata-sama!?" She turned to him.

" **Hyuuga Neji-** " Hinata swooned slightly as she spoke. " **So weak. She knew this would happen. I must...go...** " Neji walked towards her slowly. She stumbled away form him, towards the lake she had seen close by. Neji was quicker. He grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, Hinata-sama." She shrieked and spun out of his grip. Mui was currently the one he was talking to, though he didn't know that. She was exhausted and vulnerable. It made her scared and she already distrusted any male. She dashed out of his hands and towards the water. She would be safe there. Her instinctive side had started to take over, she was barely holding it back. She couldn't afford to stay and fight. Hinata had lost too much blood. Once in the water, her chakra would rejuvenate and she could begin to heal Hinata. Shoving that much chakra through the seal had severly injured them both.

Neji watched in panic as his cousin raced for the lake in tears. He dashed after her to be brought up short when she dived underwater. Looking down at his hand, he saw it covered in blood he looked back across the lake in genuine fear. He dove into the lake, ignoring his own fatigue.

He searched until Ten Ten pulled him out of the water. He couldn't find his cousin anywhere. Ten Ten was in tears when she pulled him out of the water to the beach.

"Neji! Neji, please! Neji stop, you have to stop! Neji!" She held him as he shivered in the cool night air that had fallen as they had hit ground. He looked at the lake that had swallowed his cousin. He didn't know what to do. He sat there letting Ten Ten hold him and allowed himself to do something he had never done before, believe everything had to work out.

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes.  _Mui, where are we?_  She looked around at the cave. Looking down she saw that her arms were wrapped in shreds of her coat.  _ **Under a rock in that lake. I have water bringing air down here for the moment. When you feel up to it I'll give you the memory of what just happened**  Neji? Ten Ten?  **Both fine and on the beach above us.**_  Hinata nodded and closed her eyes to relax her shaking limbs. She then told Mui she was ready for the memories of their fall. As she processed what happened, as well as inspecting her injuries, she spoke with Mui.

_You know he wasn't going to hurt us._  Mui sighed as she answered softly.

**_I know, I was vulnerable and frightened. I'm ready to trust him, and to some extent Ten Ten._ **

_Good, because I doubt they're going to ignore this. Let me check on them._  Hinata activated her Byakugan and searched for her teammates. They were around a fire on the shore. She sighed. Then movement caught her eye. That mammoth of a man wasn't dead! She quickly told Mui they were going and dived into the water.  _ **Dear we have little chakra and no physical energy to speak of, this will be difficult.**_

_I didn't save him to loose them now._  She felt Mui's agreement.  _Besides I don't need quantity, just control_  She smiled as she emerged from the water as Neji and Ten Ten noticed their visitor. They didn't move fast enough and got trapped under a large log that was probably the trunk of a tree from up the mountain. With it in front of them and a tree behind them, they couldn't move. Hinata dashed across the water, shouting, getting the man's attention. He looked at her as she stood panting on the water's surface.

Neji felt his heart freeze when he saw his cousin. He hadn't been paying any attention, they were lucky Ten Ten had set up traps or they would have never even known what had hit them. Hinata was standing on the water and she looked about to faint. He could see blood still dripping from her arms and back. The man snarled at her as she took her favorite stance and performed her Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō.

Hinata saw him snarl at her as she started. Her control was perfect, even with her depleted energy. She glared at him as he snickered at her.

"You missed me, little girl." She smiled as her vision tunneled.

"That s'okay." She saw him turn to see Ten Ten leap at him with her weapons and Neji leaped over him as the the log splintered. She had aimed at the log, cutting it until it was small enough they could get free. She smiled as she fainted towards the shallow water. Neji dashed towards her, leaving the man to Ten Ten. He heard Hinata as he caught his cousin. "Neji..."

* * *

"Hinata-chan, over here." Hinata ran over to her father.

"Otou-san?" She saw her parents on the porch. "Otou-san, I learned something new!" Her father smiled.

"Alright, let me see." Hinata smiled at them as she called water from the pond. It swirled in her hand a moment before it held its shape of a bird.

"It's a hawk like the one that protected us in the fire last month. I can see it in Okaa-san with my Byakugan." Both her parents looked at her. Se smiled and waited to see what they thought. Fianlly her father responded.

"Very good, Otome." HInata let go of the water at her father's voice. It was different. Her mother reached forward.

"Hina-chan, will you stay with Okaa-san tonight?" Hinata looked at her mother in confusion. She nodded.

She hopped on her mother's bed that night. Her mother held her close.

"Hina-chan, you must never speak of what I do tonight." Hinata looked at her mother.

"Like a secret?" Her mother nodded. Hinata smiled and nodded. Her mother gently removed her shirt and wrote a seal on her left chest. They snuggled all night. Her mother did that for weeks.

Hinata was running. Her mother was bringing her a baby sister. She ran intot he room to be scooped up by her father.

"Hinata, you know better than to run. Come we must take you to see Kione-sensei. You remember him?" Hinata nodded. She had the same doctor as Okaa-san. They were in an examination room. Kione stood off to one side reading a scroll. He looked at Hinata when she entered.

"Hinata-chan I need to draw on you chest, is that okay?" Hinata nodded uncertainly. Everyone was acting weird.

"Then can I see Okaa-san?" He nodded and dipped his brush in ink. He drew a new seal on Hinata's left chest exactly where her mother had all those nights. When he was done he nodded to her father.

"Now Hinata-sama, you cannot rub this, alright." She nodded and asked to see her mother again. Her father carried her their. Before they enter her father stood her on a table so they were eye level.

"Hinata, you must never, never tell anyone about the seal on your chest. Do you understand?" Hinata nodded.

"Its like a secret too?" Her father nodded. "Why are there so many secrets now?" Her father sighed.

"Because grown-ups need to have lots of secrets." Hinata pouted.

"I don't want to be a grown-up though, Otou-san." Her father looked at her steely.

"You have to be now." She gulped and nodded. Her father set her on the ground and led her into the room where her Okaa-san was panting. WHan her mother saw her, she reached for her daughter. Hinata held her hand as her mother groaned in pain. Hinata was barely aware of what her father and Kione were talking about.

"We have to make the transfer!"

"I won't give up on my wife!"

"Hiashi-sama the child's chakra has separated, we cannot save your wife! We must make the transfer! You know the tradition!" Kione placed a hand on Hinata and on her mother. Hinata looked up at him as she felt a rush of chakra like a splash of water. She felt her mother all around her. She looked at her mother happily, to see her mother's blank eyes staring back at her.

"Okaa-san? Okaa-san! OKAA-SAN!"

Hinata shot up panting. Gentle hands reached to steady her. Looking at Ten Ten, she relaxed slightly. She hadn't had that dream in years, and never that focused on her seal. She leaned against Ten Ten's calm voice and slowed her breathing.

* * *

Jiraiya looked at his student, who was still unconscious. He hoped whatever was happening would pass soon.

- _Several hours ago_ -

Naruto looked around the clearing. It looked very familiar but Jiraiya had sworn they hadn't been here yet. He looked around as Takamaru returned and devoured his meal. Suddenly Takamaru screeched and dove into a bush. Jiraiya and Naruto rushed over when they heard very human yelling. Naruto pulled the man out of the bush. The man scrambled to get away but Jiraiya just sat on him. He started to cry pathetically.

"I'm sorry. I don't have it anymore. Please don't kill me! I-I-I-I lost it. Please!" Naruto growled.

"Whoa there, hold up. We don't know you. Who wants to kill you?" The man seemed to calm some, though he still twitched at every sound in the bushes.

"A mountian man. He was supposed to get the scroll back. But I already gave it to the Konoha shinobi. He's after them now, But if he doesn't find them, he might come after me again!" Naruto was about to grab him and shake him for more information when he was hit by it.

The force of such a huge demon chakra covered the land. Both travelers shuddered as the man quirmed away from Jiraiya and ran. Jiraiya's attention was dragged back to Naruto as the blonde summoned Kyuubi's chakra then used it to summon the demon himself.

When Kyuubi appeared, he began to pace vicuosly, whimpering and growling all the way. As if this wasn't confusing enough. Jiraiya spun to look at his student as Naruto released a piercing scream. Both he and Kyuubi reached for the blonde as he balled into fetal position, whimpering.

"What is wrong with him?" Jiraiya looked at Kyuubi. Naruto had started summoning the demon for short periods of time nearly four months ago, much to Jiraiya's complete surprise and slight horror. After they sat and talked for a while, though, Jiraiya had to accept Kyuubi has someone who cared about Naruto at least. Kyuubi could be summoned for a short time, but it was very exhausting for the demon, if not Naruto, so it wasn't done very often. Jiraiya tolerated and respected the demon for Naruto's sake, but he had a hard time forgiving him for his former student's sake.

" **While summoned, I am unaware of his thoughts. Kit?"**  Kyuubi nuzzled Naruto, concerned. Eventually he curled up around the quivering blonde in an effort to make the boy feel safe. Soon, Naruto fell asleep, still whimpering Hinata's name.

- _End Flashback_ -

Jiraiya sighed. Kyuubi had disappeared over an hour ago, his time running out, without explaining why he had been summoned in the first place, though Jiraiya good guess it had something to do with that surge of demonic chakra. Takamaru had taken up Kyuubi job of comforting Naruto, thought he ird nudged his way under an arm and preened Naruto instead of surrounded him, the size difference and all. Jiraiya looked at the stars. He had certainly gotten more than he bargined for when he took on his apprentices, both past and present.

* * *

Hinata looked down at her arms to see them bandaged as Ten Ten handed her some water. She could see her cousin over by the fire. Turning to Ten Ten.

"Arigato, Ten Ten. Ano, I have a request to make." Ten Ten tilted her head in question. "I need to explain this to Neji. It involves our family and..." Ten Ten smiled.

"It's alright. I can wait until your ready if you ever are. Just remember you are important to me as my friend, not just as Neji's cousin. I'll get him and leave you two alone. I'll prepare a light dinner for you." Hinata smiled tiredly in gratitude and Ten Ten went towards Neji. A few minutes later Neji came over with some tea for Hinata.

"Hinata-sama?" Hinata sighed then took a deep breath.

"Neji, what I'm about to tell you is a secret you cannot repeat. It is as old and powerful as our family, and nearly as difficult to bear." Neji looked at his cousin's serious face. He hadn't missed the fact that she hadn't called him cousin or brother (ni-kun). He knelt at attention and looked at her, completely serious.

Hinata explained what Mui had to her when they had met about Hitomi and the birth of the Byakugan. Neji sat through it, taking it in. Then she started to explain current events.

"The seal became a cage. Mui couldn't see out and the host never even knew she was there. Until my mother. Something happened to the seal and Mui had limited communication with Okaa-san. When the seal was placed on me, it was the original seal again, so again she was shut in. Then when Kieshi hit me there two months ago, it reset the seal into an earlier form. I can now speak with Mui. She has been assisting me to expand on what Okaa-san taught me when I was young. The council and the head are the only ones supposed to know about Mui." Neji breathed as he thought about his all.

"So our Byakugan is the result of imprisoning Mui?" Hinata shook her head.

"Despite what our council believes, Mui's continued presence isn't required for our Byakugan. It doesn't even strengthen that of her host. It does keep it from breeding out though. Our main family gains demonic chakra the longer there is a host in the bloodline, that is what causes all kekkei genkai." Neji understood that their families council were a bunch of pig-headed idiots. He looked at his cousin as she drank her tea.

"She was scared of me?" Hinata smiled slightly.

"Sort of. She came to the Hyuuga to hide from her  _male_ mate and then our  _male_ leaders imprisoned her and sentenced their  _female_ heads to an early death. She isn't feeling too happy towards males as of present time. I've been trying to get her to relax enough to tell you, today simply forced the decision." Neji looked at her sharply.

"What exactly did you do today? Why are you bleeding?" Hinata looked at her hands sadly.

"I forced her chakra through the seal." At Neji's questioning sound she continued. "Mui could escape this seal easy. So could Kyuubi-sama, or any of them, except Ichibi-sama in Gaara-san. They would just have to live with the consequences of killing their hosts." Neji's panicked looked drew her gaze as she smiled sadly. "Yes, Kitsune-san is still seal because he won't kill Naruto, the same with Mui. They care more for our lives then our own family." She looked up at the stars. "Demons really are amazing. I know Shikamaru was doing research with Sakura. I hope they share what they find. We really don't give them any credit." She sighed and resumed explaining today.

"Since her seal is so restrictive, to force her chakra through it takes all of my energy and some of hers, which is why you met her earlier. Also, I'm only bleeding because it happened in the air. If I had been on the ground, I would have used water from underground. My blood can be controlled like water can, easier in fact because it is already mixed with my chakra. I used it like Naruto uses Kitsune-san's tails. Because of the restraint though I can't pull out her real chakra, just a small part of it so we used what we could. The chant was made with the seal to allow the host to protect their family with Mui should the need ever arise. It allows us to give our life for our family and insure that they will be safe. Mui is the only reason I'm alive right now after having lost so much blood. She thinks they'll take several months to heal fully, though there shouldn't be any scars." Neji gulped softly as he learned he could have lost his cousin tonight. He could still loose her to this seal. He hated his family council. He hated them.

"Neji" He looked at her. "Are you okay with this?" He started before he realized that while he had asked questions, he hadn't told her a reaction.

"Okay with it? No, I'm not okay with it!" Neji wasn't prone to outbursts but he though this deserved an exception. Hinata cringed away, thinking he was referring to her being Jinchuuriki. Neji knelt closer and pulled her into a hug. "I'm not okay with loosing you to our council and our family's stupidity." He whispered into her hair as he held her close.

Hinata squeaked as she was suddenly pulled into his hug. She could feel his desperation. She smiled sadly as she hugged back.

"Is there anything we can do? Hinata-sama?" Neji murmured as he felt his heart clench as he tried to figure something out. Never in his life had he wanted fight destiny as much as he did now. Hinata tucked her head on his chest.

"At the moment, no. When Naruto returns, I will try to replicate his seal on myself and break the one I currently have." Neji nodded. Hinata pulled away slightly. "Also, Itoko, Naruto isn't to know yet." Neji looked at her, confused.

"Don't you two share minds?" Hinata chuckled as she shook her head.

"Only what we wish to. We respect each other's privacy. I will tell him when Mui's ready for Kitsune-san to know." Neji nodded and felt Hinata shiver.

"If there is no other life changing revelations, lets move you to the fire where you'll be warmer." Hinata smiled and nodded. She protested slightly when Neji picked her up but allowed him to set her at the fire. She smiled at Ten Ten as she handed her some food. Sighing she felt Mui rumble happily as she settled down for a nap.  **Well done, Hina-chan**

Hinata smiled as she leaned into her cousin's protective hold.

In the end

it isn't the years of her life

its the life in her years

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm transferring this from fanfic.net, same user name  
> Original Notes:  
> Hi, all. Whew emotion breather. This is the last chapter. I will continue with one-shots now.
> 
> By the way, alerting this story, or any of my one-shots won't alert you to when I update anything, because it doesn't tell you a revised chapters and one-shots don't have more chapters, please alert me as an author to follow my series.
> 
> Hina also means baby bird. I just learned that O.O
> 
> the end quote is from Abraham Lincoln "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
> 
> title quote is Winston Churchill, which I didn't change this time. it was either that or "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it" (I like quotes)
> 
> Ja Ne
> 
> re-proofed and added the missing scene. I bet people were wondering how Naruto handled what was happeneing to Hinata.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, all. This is will have another chapter.
> 
> For the title i modified the quote from King Lear, Speak less than thou Knowest, which means you don't want to give away all that you know. My modified version means only teach what you know.
> 
> Hinata's flashback is from The Last Week, modified to her perspective only.
> 
> The poem is from the hobbit, golum uses it as a riddle, to which the answer is time. Water could fit too though.
> 
> The dream is also from The Last Week, but he has had it since as well.


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